Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced

Since
1638 several setbacks conspired against this convent being built, but
finally, with help from the King Fernando VI its construction began in
1755

In 1763 the work stopped because the high taxes levied on the bishopric
and religious communities during the time the English were in power left
the order penniless. It was then that the Bishop Santiago José
Echevaría, well known for his involvement in the city’s religious
works, intervened and so the works were finished by 1792.

The church is raised over a rectangle: its main naves forming a Latin
cross. Upon the crossing there is a small dome. The decor of the building
belongs to the second half of the 19th century and some renowned Cuban
painters were involved in it.